Safety car-ladder.



w. F. ARMSTRONG & F. s. FORD.

SAFETY CAR LADDER., APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4.1915- Patentd Feb. 1, 1916.

WILLIAM'F. ARMSTRONG AND FREDERICK s. roan, or cnrcnco, nnrivors.

SAFETY CAR-LADDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1,1916.

Application filed September 4, 1915. Serial No. 49,062.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, IVILLIAM F. ARM- STRONG and FREDERICK S. FORD, citizens of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Car-Ladders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in safety ladders for railway cars whereby the trainmen may ascend to the roof of the car and descend therefrom whenever desired.

In carrying out the present invention, it is our purpose to improve and simplify the general construction of ladders of the class described and to provide a ladder wherein one rung will be formed in such manner as to cooperate with the adjacent side wall of the car in order to reinforce the ladder at this point so that the strain on the latter, incident to the trainmen traversing the same, will be distributed over the ladder evenly and uniformly.

' WVith the above and other objects in View,

the ladder. Fig. a is a fragmentary horizon-- tal sectional view through the car showing the ladder in end elevation.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, 1, 1 designate the side rails or stiles of the ladder. Formed in each side rail 1 and spaced apart appropriate distances along such rail are openings 2 alining with the openings respectively in the other rail. The rungs in the ladder are indicated at 3 and each rung is in the form of a bar having the opposite extremities thereof bent inwardly as at 4: and passed through the particular pair of alining openings 2 and the extremities of the inwardly bent portions are bent outwardly at right angles to the main body portion of the rung as at 5 and disposed upon the inner sides of the respective stiles 1, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing.

Secured to the top and bottom ends of the stiles 1, 1 are certain limbs of right angular brackets 6 and the remaining limbs of the brackets 6 are fastened to the side wall of the car by means of bolts 7, as clearly illus trated in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

In accordance with our present invention, the side wall of the car is formed with depressions 9 disposed in the same horizontal plane and spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the outwardly extending portions 5 of therungs of the ladder andthese depressions are disposed in alinement with the respective outturned portions 5 of one of the central rungs and the outturned portions of such rung are relatively long as compared with the similar portions of the remaining rungs so that the outer ends of such portions will enter the depressions 9. This construction acts to reinforce the ladder at the center thereof and the relatively long outturned end portions of the particular rung seated within the depressions 9 cooperate with the right angular brackets 6 and the bolts 7 to maintain the partsof the ladder in proper relative positions and distribute the strain equally over the ladder.

We claim:

1. In a ladder for railway cars, the combination with the side wall of the car having depressions formed therein and spaced apart longitudinally of such wall, of a ladder comprising side rails spaced apart, brackets at the opposite ends of the respective rails securing the ladder to the side wall of the car, bolts holding said brackets to the side wall of the car, said side rails being formed with alining openings disposed adjacent to the depressions in said side wall, a rung formed of a bar having theend portions thereof inturned and passed through said openings and the inner ends of the inturned end portions bent outwardly and disposed within said depressions and cooperating with said brackets to support the side rails, and rungs disposed upon opposite sides of the first-mentioned rung and secured to the side rails and spaced apart equal distances from each other and from the first-mentioned rung.

2. In a ladder for railway cars, the combination with the'side wall of the car, of a ladder comprising side rails spaced apart, brackets at the opposite ends of the respective rails securing the same to the side wall of the car, said side rails being formed with alining openings, rungs each formed of a In testimony whereof We aflix our signabar having the end portions thereof inturned tures in presence of two Witnesses,

and passed through the corresponding open- WILLIAM F. ARMSTRONG. ings and then bent outwardly and having FREDERICK S. FORD.

the outwardly bent portions bearing against \Vitnesses:

the inner surfaces of the respective rails to ISRAEL SOLON,

hold the latter properly spaced apart. MARcUs H. TAFT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent:

' Washington, D. G. 

